章節 68: Nightwalker
True to his words, Chef Will did not snore, which Elion was very thankful of for he's a light sleeper--- at least he could still be able to have a good night's rest despite having to share a room.
But just as when Elion thought that the night was over, a familiar event happened, something similar to the one Elion witnessed the night they slept in the princess' room.
At around two in the morning, Chef Will rose from his bed and stood in front of the door, he was staring at it blankly without saying anything, he struggled to turn the knob for a while until he barely managed to open it.
Surprised by the sudden bang of the door on the wall, Elion sat up from his bed. Still not fully awake, he stood up and closed the door, wondering if a strong wind could force the door open like that…unless…upon seeing the empty bed beside his, and upon peeking at the creek of the door, he saw Chef Will, walking outside.
Chef Will was wearing his sky-blue pajama, swaying left and right, as if drunk.
Elion closed and opened his eyes a few times to fully wake himself up. He grabbed a plain white shirt from the pile of clothes right under his bed and tossed it on his head.
'It's no coincidence if things happen for the second time' Elion closed the door gently behind him and followed Chef Will. 'He deliberately strolls around the palace during the night.' As to why---or where---Elion has no idea.
Since the infection is now controlled, the standard rule is implemented once again: No attendants shall go out of their room past the curfew hours. Chefs are not exempted from that--- unless they work in the night kitchen. And as far as Elion know, Chef Will is not involved in preparing the royal's formal dining dinner. Besides, the royal's dinner already ended two hours ago.
The night was eerily quiet like a ghost town. Elion was not bothered by the dark atmosphere at all, it was a scene he was familiar with. The palace looked like one of the abandoned buildings Elion used to inspect in the slumps. It actually felt like home.
A post guard would normally be standing by on a corner, but the hallway was empty of any prying eyes tonight. The attendants were not the only team who had lost a lot of personnel in the surge of the infection. It seems like the guards too had lost a few--- maybe twice as more than the attendants.
'Did the Chef know about this?' Elion wondered.
Chef Will was walking as if he had no destination to go to.
Elion took note of this and decided to keep a few more step away from him.
Chef Will suddenly pivoted to the left with force, his head almost falling to the ground, but he bounced back up right away as if he had a spring on his back.
Elion was certain Chef Will was not one of them, he would know if Chef Will was from the slumps. Elion knew everyone in the slumps by name, it was impossible for Elion to miss knowing a person--- there's only a few of them after all.
So, to assume that Chef Will had a mission on his own would be very likely. But to whom he was receiving the order from was very unclear.
'Could he be from another base? Is he an ally?' Elion wondered if there were others out there like them. Another group of survivors not under the reign of the kingdom. A fellow hunter for food, materials, and information.
A sudden urge washed onto Elion, he suddenly wanted to ask Chef Will questions only those people who grew up from the slumps would understand. Things like, survival tips: on how to plant foods, to gather rainwater, on stitching wounds… and many more.
But there are at least two possibilities to everything.
Elion controlled his excitement. 'Or an enemy?' he had to be rational with every choice that he would make.
Maybe Chef Will is working under the royals--- the Queen herself. Or was Elion set-up by the princess to be his dormmate? There were too many variables and too many angles to know which is right.
One thing still remains, the most rational thing for Elion to do is to only trust one person in this palace, and that is Maya and no one else.
If Chef Will is indeed working to any of the royals, then following him tonight was a bad move.
Elion stood still for a moment, pondering if he should go back to his room and pretend to be asleep. For all he knew, this could be a bait for him--- a test he just miserably failed. He violated the curfew once more, and someone must have wanted him to do just that.
But then--- Elion noticed that Chef Will's route was familiar. Chef Will's destination was the kitchen--- Elion was right.
But there's no one to cook for at this hour.
Elion closed the distance between them, but still making sure to keep a distance so he won't get noticed.
Chef Will entered the kitchen and turned on the lights.
Elion stopped at the open entrance and pressed his back on the wall, peeking inside the kitchen.
Chef Will struggled to grab his apron that was hanging on the wall--- wearing it over his head was a struggle to.
On Elion's point of view, he could only see the Chef's back--- it was hard to see what the Chef was really doing. Elion dared to slide an inch away from the wall and squinted his eyes hard.
Elion saw Chef Will opening the refrigerator and took--- if Elion was not mistaken--- a bundle of asparagus. Chef Will then went back to his steel table and grabbed a chopping board and a knife and began slicing. For a Chef, his knife skills were well…not that good. Asparagus went everywhere except on the chopping board--- it was messy. Even Elion could observe that much--- it was as if Chef Will was chopping blindly. Even Elion does not cut though a zombie's neck that messily.
Chef Will was crushing something using the hilt of his knife now--- he was holding it too close to his chest that he might stab himself with it. Chef Will continued on pounding something in front of him.
Elion shook his head, closing his eyes for a second. Forget about his skills, but surely, a Chef does not start working at two in the morning. Nobody would be as dedicated and as passionate as that when it comes to cooking--- Elion thought so until he witnessed what was in front of him.
Elion respects those who put time and effort in improving their skills. And in truth, Chef Will needed the practice badly.
Relief passed through Elion; he was overthinking after all. Feeling sorry that he doubted Chef Will, he decided to silently go back to their room and leave Chef Will alone.
"Hey, kid." A hand patted Elion on the shoulder.
Elion turned around to see an old man. The old man was wearing a leather breastplate with the kingdom's sigil on his left chest--- a sign that he was on duty.
Of course, there would still be a guard patrolling the palace, what was Elion expecting.
Elion had turned his guard down--- he did not hear the old man approach him.
"Is there a beauty in there?" The old guard peeked inside the kitchen, observing too close, brushing his cheek with Elion's.
Elion shivered from the contact, the old man was no stranger to him, in fact the old man had kissed him on the cheeks before. Elion broke free and took a step away from the old man.
"Not again." The old man was scrubbing his beard. "You know him?" The old man jerked his chin towards the kitchen.
"Yes," Elion replied. "My dormmate."
Elion was hoping that he and Chef Will won't be charged in going out during curfew.
"Tsk,tsk tsk." The old man took a step in the kitchen. "He's getting worse."
"No!" Elion failed to stop the old man from entering. "He's just practicing…" he followed the old man inside. "…to cook."
Elion saw the old man grabbing Chef Will on the shoulder and shaking him hard. "Hey," the old man said. "HEY!" the old man shouted.
Chef Will's eyes popped open. He blinked for a few seconds, observing his surrounding, smiling as he finally understood what happened. "Maas! Hehehehe," he scratched the back of his head. "I did it again did I?" he yawned.
"Yes," Maas, the old guard, observed the mess on the table. "And you managed to peel some garlic this time." Maas pointed his thumb at Elion. "Looks like you changed your dormmate again."
Chef Will just laughed.
"This one is not as frightened as the others, he's a keeper." Maas shoved Chef Will at the back.
Chef Will propelled a few steps forward from the impact.
"Both of you," Maas gestured. "Go back to bed, the night's still early."
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